1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wheelchairs and more particularly pertains to a new wheelchair that includes features that permit the user to use a toilet while remaining seated on the wheelchair.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The movement of a person with physical limitations from a wheelchair to a commode or toilet has long been recognized as a potentially dangerous operation for the person, and it has become more apparent that this movement can also be hazardous to the caregiver or other person seeking to assist the physically-limited person. This has become especially apparent in care facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes, where the caregiver may be strained or injured when lifting the patient from the wheelchair to the toilet or from the toilet back to the wheelchair. Should the caregiver lose his or her hold on the patient during the transfer and the patient falls, both patent and caregiver may be injured.
There have been a number of proposals set forth in the art that attempt to address this problem by providing a wheelchair that the user does not have to move from when the user uses the toilet. These proposals have included removable trays or bedpans integrated into the chair that are located below holes in the seating area that may or may not be closable between toilet uses, but this approach is not very feasible for the physically limited person trying to live independently without constant assistance by a caregiver, and may present sanitary concerns.
Also, removable seat panels have been proposed that slide forwardly or rearwardly away from the rest of the seat to create an opening. While this approach is functional, the ability of the physically-impaired user of the chair to slide the seat panel forwardly from underneath himself or herself is doubtful, and rearward sliding of the panel may be virtually impossible. Thus, these proposals are not the best for those persons seeking to live independently and not having the constant services of a caregiver, and even present difficulties for those in care facilities that wish to function independently to the greatest extent possible.
Thus, it appears that the majority, if not all, of the known prior art proposals have not taken into account the physically-limited condition of the users of the typical wheelchair user and the resulting designs are not very “user-friendly” if one considers the user to be the person using the wheelchair who wishes to function as independently as possible.
In these respects, it is believed that the wheelchair according to the present invention substantially departs from the concepts and designs of the known prior art, and in so doing provides a wheelchair with enhanced capabilities for being operated independently by the user of the wheelchair to facilitate independent living by the user.